Page 50 of Creatures of War

“Rayna!” I could hear Aylia calling for me, but then there was another boom, and I was no longer on my feet.

I slammed hard onto the floor, debris raining all over me, and briefly for a moment, everything went dark.

Chapter Thirty

I had been blown up. My brain was slow in realizing that. My body wasn’t as it ached from being slammed around with debris hitting me. I coughed, the room hazy as I unburied myself from some of the wood that had managed to cover me.

“Aylia?” I called out, coughing, my throat burning.

The haziness blurred my vision as I stumbled to my feet, feeling disoriented. I couldn’t even say where in my room I currently stood. Everything was such a mess. A dragon nearby roared and shot through the air. The air around me whipped around as they shot by me. We didn’t have a window anymore.

We didn’t have anything there anymore. It had been blown inward.

“Aylia?” I called again, moving pieces, trying to pick me way around the room.

Where was she? Was she okay? Was she knocked out? Hurt? I turned to the exit, only for pieces of the ceiling to nearly fall on me. I jumped to the side with a small yelp as a huge piece slammed into the floor right where I had been standing. If that had hit me, I would have been dead.

“Aylia!” I tried again, feeling frantic.

She had to have gotten buried. That was the only answer. I tried to dig through the debris, dreading finding her underneath.

Yells broke out and thundering feet came in my direction.

“Get her now!” someone called out. “We must make sure she’s still alive.”

My hearing picked up on the words, and while I should have felt hopeful about help coming, dread slammed into me instead. I needed to get away.

I glanced around one last time, hoping to see any sign of Aylia. Maybe she got out? The thundering footsteps were getting closer, the sound of armor clanging together. I scrambled through the mess and nearly tripped into the hallway. The dragons who had been guarding my door before the explosion were knocked out; some of the debris had hit them.

After glancing back one more time, I took off running away from the guards. My eyes burned with the need to cry as I whirled a corner and kept going. Others were running too, and I used them to stay as hidden as I could as they rushed their way out of the academy. Someone was yelling for everyone to get into the bunker deeper in the mountain.

That sounded like a terrible idea to me. This was my chance to escape. I just needed to find my guys.

Pain shot up my side from all the running, my breathing growing ragged. Once again, I was reminded of how unfit I was for this kind of activity. For some reason, I found myself in the library. It was quiet, the chaos of the students and the fights muted. No one was in the library; it was the last place anyone wanted to be.

“Rayna!” Philit’s harsh bark caught my attention. He was up top, on the floor where we had met last. “Stay there.”

Before I could say anything, all three of them jumped down. I screamed, knowing they couldn’t fly, but they landed in a crouch, like they hadn’t just jumped down three stories.

“I told you this was the way to go,” Landers said, sounding way too proud.

“What happened to you?” Zilon asked, reaching over and wiping at my cheek. He pulled away, my blood dotting his thumb.

“My… my room exploded.”

My heart was still thundering in my throat after seeing them jump down like that. It took me a moment to clear the horror scenario replaying in my head, visions of the carnage that would have happened if they hadn’t landed as smoothly and effortlessly.

All three of their eyes grew huge.

“Are you okay?” Philit asked.

I nodded, starting to feel a little numb as I calmed down and caught my breath.

“We can’t stay here; we need to go,” I said. “The king. They’re looking for me.”

Their expressions hardened. “I think it’s time we hunt down the captain. Come on.” Philit grabbed my hand and pulled me back out of the library.

“What if they catch us?” I asked.

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